A conventional fishing reel having a changeable driving speed for a spool has hitherto been well-known.
The conventional fishing reel is provided with a first low speed gear at a handle shaft rotatably supported to a reel body and a second low speed gear and a second high speed gear at a spool, shaft for the spool with the second low speed gear and second high speed gear being axially juxtaposed. Rotatably supported to the reel body is a second high speed gear which is substantially ring-shaped and has at its inner periphery internal teeth engageable with the first low speed gear and at its outer periphery external teeth always engageable with the second high speed gear. The handle shaft is slidably supported to the reel body and is pushed to engage the first low speed gear with the second low speed gear to thereby drive the spool at a low speed. The handle shaft is pulled to engage the first low speed gear with the internal teeth at the first high speed gear, to thereby drive the spool at a high speed.
The conventional fishing reel, which axially pushes or pulls the handle shaft to change the driving speed for the spool as described above, must axially move the handle shaft without rotating, in order to change the speed. Therefore, when each tooth crest at one gear coincides with each tooth bottom at the other gear, the speed change can be carried out without hindrance, but when they do not coincide with each other but both gears abut at lateral sides against each other, the speed change cannot be performed. In such case, in order to change the speed, it is necessary to rotate the handle shaft or the spool so as to mate the tooth crest with the tooth bottom, thereby creating a problem in that the speed change efficiency deteriorates.